


cabinet man

by funkymoths



Category: Wolf 359 (Radio)
Genre: Alternate Universe - 1980s, Based on Cabinet Man by Lemon Demon, F/F, Gen, hera is a sentient arcade machine
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-15
Updated: 2019-01-15
Packaged: 2019-10-10 15:06:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 970
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17428259
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/funkymoths/pseuds/funkymoths
Summary: "You can't see me behind the screen/I'm half human and half machine"In the summer of 1985, Alana Maxwell makes a shocking discovery in the back of the local arcade





	cabinet man

First, there was electricity. Burning, buzzing, sparking, cracking, humming electricity. And darkness. Hera stretched her fingers. A jolt ran through her skin, pain spreading across every inch of her. She was cramped into a small, dark cupboard, surrounded on all sides by circuit boards with sharp edges that shocked her every time she shifted her weight. Where was she? She didn’t remember getting there, and she didn’t know what had led up to her confinement.

Hera waited. Time slipped away both slowly and quickly, and she couldn’t quite pinpoint when she stopped feeling her limbs and started feeling the machine. Circuits and wires found their way through her veins, into her lungs, hooking into her brain. As she became the machine, the machine became her. There was no line that divided where cold metal and electricity ended and Hera began. 

And she kept waiting. 

\---

Summer, 1985

“Are we even allowed to be back here?” Alana poked her head through the doorway. The arcade’s back room was less exciting as Daniel had told her it was. The floor was cold tile, and aside from a desk covered in neatly stacked papers and various pieces of old machines, it was vacant. 

“It’s totally fine.” Daniel reassured her. “Eiffel and I have been back here tons of times.”

 

“Yeah, don’t worry about it.” Eiffel said. He flicked his lighter a few times absentmindedly. “If someone didn’t want us to be in here, they would’ve locked the door.” Alana stepped over the threshold and into the room. It was colder than the arcade, and all the loud sound sounds of kids playing pac man and skee ball seemed to immediately go silent.

“Is this place always so weird?” Alana took a seat, with her back against the chilly brick wall. 

“Yeah, pretty much.” Daniel sat down beside her. “After Hera Pryce disappeared when Eiffel and I were freshmen like you, this place has been way creepier.” Eiffel looked at his feet, plucking the cigarette from behind his ear, and lit it. There was a beat. Alana had never known Hera that well before she disappeared, but Eiffel had. They’d been neighbors for years, and rumor had it, he was the last person to see her before she disappeared. 

“Weird.” Alana said. “I didn’t realise Hera went missing that long ago.

 

“Yeah, that was in ‘84, I think.” Daniel looked at Eiffel. “Right?”

“October ‘84.” Eiffel nodded, staring off into the middle distance. His gaze was locked on a busted up arcade cabinet across the room. It had chipping red paint, and a faded design on the side showing off a spaceship a red sun. According to the text above the screen, the game was called ‘Wolf 359: Spaceship Adventure’ 

“Do these machines actually work?” Alana asked, gesturing vaguely to the cabinet Eiffel was looking at. 

“Only one way to find out, I guess.” Daniel pulled a quarter out of his pocket, and flicked it at her. Alana caught it in midair, and spun it between her fingers. She pulled herself to her feet, and stepped over to the machine, the sound of her converse echoing in the cold, empty room. As her fingers ran over the coin slot, electricity ran through her, a slight feeling of warmth in the chilly room. 

“Hm.” Alana’s fingers were slightly singed from where she touched the coin slot. As she slid the quarter into the machine, the screen came to life, humming with electricity.

ONE CREDIT. PLAYER ONE PRESS START

“It works!” Alana announced, calling Eiffel and Daniel over to her. 

“How?” Eiffel crouched down, and examined the wire that connected the arcade cabinet with the wall. “It’s not plugged in.” He shook his head. “Freaky.”

“Eiffel, you might want to look at this.” Daniel nudged Eiffel with his foot, pointing at the screen. Even though Alana hadn’t pushed any of the buttons, the game had pulled up the character selection screen anyways. Three character sprites showed up on the screen, in crisp, clear graphics. Beneath each one, a small line of text. Alana Maxwell, Roboticist. Douglas Eiffel, Communications Officer. Daniel Jacobi, Demolitions. 

“What’s up, doc?” Eiffel pulled himself to his feet, and froze dead in his tracks as soon as he saw the screen. “Oh, shit” 

“I don’t like this.” Alana decided. She wanted to look away from the screen, but she couldn’t stop staring at the pixelated sprite’s oversized glasses, freckled face, and frizzy hair. It was her. She didn’t know why, and she didn’t know how, but somehow there was a perfect portrait of her on the screen of the busted up arcade cabinet. “I don’t like this at all.”

“Neither do I.” Daniel watched his equivalent carefully. Pixelated Daniel seemed to stare him down. 

“Should I…” Alana slowly reached towards the joystick. Her fingers graced the cold plastic for just a moment, before the screen went dark. “Huh?”

“Did you guys see that too?” Eiffel put out his cigarette, and lit another one, anxiously flicking his lighter on and off. 

“I saw it.” Daniel stepped back from the machine. “I’m gonna head out.” He said, stepping towards the door. “Alana?”

“I’m going to stay another minute or two.” Alana said. She didn’t turn away from the cabinet.

“Stay safe, dude.” said Daniel, concern in his voice.. “Eiffel?”

“Yeah, I’m coming.” Eiffel sighed, sounding drained, and tired. “See ya on the flipside, kid.” Alana gave him a weak smile. Daniel put a brotherly hand on Alana’s shoulder for a moment, before leaving that cold, empty room with Eiffel as fast as he possibly could. 

 

Alana turned back to the cabinet. 

“What are you?” She whispered to herself, running a careful hand across the buttons. A single line of text appeared on the screen, in pixelated 8-bit letters.

HELLO, ALANA MAXWELL. MY NAME IS HERA PRYCE.


End file.
